


And Maybe Our Edges Don't Fit Together

by Riagin



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Evie & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil as Found Family, F/F, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Self-Doubt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:08:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23745838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riagin/pseuds/Riagin
Summary: Because maybe they weren’t as rotten inside as they sometimes still pretended to be, but they were broken. And sometimes time and reassurances aren’t enough to ease away all the wickedness and doubts they were raised to embrace. Post D3.
Relationships: Evie & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil, Evie/Mal (Disney)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 91





	1. Chapter 1

Mal was stalling and she knew she had been  ever since  the coronation. In her relationships, in her future, in her life. After the debacle with Audrey was over, she finally took the time to take a step back to breathe and actually sit down to sort through her mind for what felt like the first time in months. There was enough to sort through that at one point in her life she would have just walked away instead of letting herself become overwhelmed. 

Dealing with the situation of the barrier being gone was one huge messy complication that had many of them pulling at their hair in frustration. Mal had been desperate when she had told Ben that she couldn’t become a queen with the people on The Isle of the Lost still suffering; and then she  had been  too caught up in the moment to realize that just dropping the barrier in one go would be a mistake. Because as soon as the adrenaline had died down, horror had washed through her. The villains that The Isle had originally been created to hold, were suddenly free, with full access to their magic. 

Her eyes had instantly gone to her family and as soon as Evie, Jay, and Carlos saw her face, they  had  seemed to almost crumple into themselves with the realization that their parents had just been set loose. Within the sea of excitement, the four of them had huddled together,  Mal’s hand clutching Evie’s as she tried to reassure them with only her presence that she would protect them.

Auradon had quickly found out that many of the villains had escaped as soon as the barrier went down. Those with powerful enough magic like  Jafar and Ursula had simply just vanished; others with more subtle abilities like the Evil Queen only needed to blend in for long enough to disappear in the confusion. Some were wily enough to leave without the use of magic, like Captain Hook; while a handful like Cruella and Madame Medusa were either too far gone or unwilling to leave behind whatever they had claimed as theirs. It was very few that stayed either in  Auradon or willingly await ed judgment on The Isle, and among them were Hades and Dr.Facilier. The ones that were violent or caught trying to make their escape were quickly gathered up and temporarily locked in the dungeon while everyone tried to figure out what to do with them.

Mal was also one of the only ones thinking about The Isle itself and what would happen to it. She hated it with a burning in her chest that made her want to reduce it to little more than ashes scattered in the wind. But at the same time; it had been her home for most of her life, some of the most important things that shaped her happened on that miserable piece of rock. It was where she was born; where she fought and struggled and crawled her way through life, barely surviving but becoming strong because of it. Where she met a boy with an infuriating smirk and sticky fingers that she hadn’t trusted but had slowly become a strong protective pillar she could lean on. Where a small head of curly white hair had been little more than a useful annoyance but had wormed into her heart with warm smiles and snarky quips. Where a beautiful girl who had made her seethe with bitterness had showed her what it meant to care for another with gentle hand holding and soft encouragements. But  The Isle was also a cesspool full of garbage and abuse and the stench of the worst crimes people could do to one another for twenty years. Where all of the children who were born and raised there faced terror and pain and were never allowed to love.

She didn’t know what to do with The Isle of the Lost, and everyone else was too busy dealing with their own lives to help her come up with a solution . And when it came down to it, Mal just didn’t want to burden anyone with her indecisiveness. Not Ben who had so much on his plate already. Not Jay or Carlos who were each making plans for their futures. Not Evie who was juggling her fashion line and had taken on the sudden responsibility of several kids. Not even her father, who she was still a little wary of.

Speaking of Hades.

He had been offered a room in the castle by Ben and a tooth clenching reluctant Adam; but the god’s hair  had  flared as he sneered as them both and said he has other places to be before pulling Mal aside. He had extended an open invitation to the underworld with a small smirk and had promised to return and catch up as long as it wasn’t in the castle. Then there was a string of derogatory remarks about Ben and his family and insistence that Mal was settling for safe instead of fighting for what she really wanted, which was both ironic and infuriating since she had very much fought for everything else in her life. That conversation had gotten heated fast and ended with flashing green eyes and a burst of blue flame that signaled his abrupt exit.

She had shrugged it off as good riddance even when a part of her that she hid away from everyone had feared that it meant she would never see him again. That evening she had found a single black flower on her pillow. There was no note but she knew it was from him after he had mocked her about expecting flowers just the day before. It was beautiful , in an unconventional way , with brittle petals and thorns hidden in the stem waiting for a careless touch to draw blood. It smelled vaguely of brimstone that reminded her of Hades and of the magic she had felt when holding his Ember.

She loved it.

The thing that Mal had been pushed aside the most was the small matter of her impeding marriage, Hade’s words ringing in her ears. It had been too much from the moment that Ben had proposed on live television in front of everyone in the kingdom and several different countries, to when she had thought she could decline when she had presented her ultimatum so she could focus on finding a new way to free the children on The Isle. She had felt trapped under all those eyes, under the eyes of her three precious friends, under Evie’s unreadable gaze. There was really no choice but to accept in that moment. And then everything had quickly spiraled out of control and she was able to push it out of mind while focusing on more pressing matters.

The truth was that she wanted to be Queen, just not in the way Ben was offering. In the blackest part of her heart, the part that had over sixteen years of dark aspirations twisted into it by the Mistress of All Evil, she knew that she the idea of ruling made her blood heat in excitement and satisfaction. The fact that her mother had never truly taken over a kingdom as her own while Mal herself had just been handed the crown, just made it all the more delicious. But when it came down to it, she didn’t want the title only because she was expected her remain by Ben’s side forever. A Queen in only title, not actual power. Like Belle, who spent her days planning balls and stroking her husband’s ego; who had no real say in any actual matters of the kingdom and did little more than smile at the endless amount of useless parades to show a united family leading a united allegiance.

Mal wanted, needed, to be a real leader ; one unlike all those royals in the United States of  Auradon who had mostly stumbled into their titles and painted solutions with a broad brush across their individual kingdoms, addressing the masses but not the individuals. She would be the  unmovable  protector for all the beaten and abused. Like Carlos, who still violently flinched or lashed out in fear, and hid his hurts and pain. She would be an understanding ally to those who had spent their life knowing nothing but the need to take and take in order to survive another night. Like Jay and his hands that still grabbed trinkets out of habit and looked at his treasures in fear at being caught and sent  away . She would be a gentle supporter to all the people who had fits of self-hatred because they were raised by parents who told them they were worthless. Like Evie, who Mal still needed to remind how beautiful she was because she would seize in anguish at even the implication of criticism. She would be a  caring  mentor to the kids that suddenly found themselves brimming with terrifying and amazing magics that they were never taught to control. Like Mal had been after stepping past that barrier for the first time, fighting down the inner panic that she might destroy everything around her if she was careless.

The people from The Isle, her people, didn’t need the  situational acceptance but definitive black and white views that  Auradon , and by definition Ben, was built on. They needed a leader who would not only fight for them both physically and politically, but also someone who understood their suffering and would ease the way to living away from  t h e h orrors they had endured. These criminals and villains and  _ children _ who would always hold a sliver of darkness within them that marked what they did in the name of survival, would not benefit from the fairy tale that was being offered to them now. Because Ben was a good king, but there was no chance in hell that the people from The Isle would happily accept him or his help. They would never see him as their leader. Not the way they would her.

Mal loved Ben, but in her heart, she knew that he would never understand her the way that she needed him to. Only those three understood her that way; with their still wicked grins, their wordless loyalty, and their shared scars. And it was still only them that she looked to whenever she needed help, because she knew that as kind-hearted as Ben was, he would try to fix everything in his own way instead of help ing her better shoulder that burden herself. He had proven time and again that he would jump feet first into situations that he had no business being in simply because he felt it was the right thing to do. It was that reason that she knew she would not be able to marry him, because she loved Ben, but she didn’t love him enough to let him  try to  mend all her broken pieces. She didn’t love him enough to trust that would be able to look after her people.

Ben was the golden boy. A king who preached kindness, a man who wanted the best for everyone under his rule. Ben’s heart was beautiful. A little bruised from the past year, since he extended the hand of friendship to four disheveled and distrustful teenagers and they had dragged him through hardships that he had not been prepared for. But whole, full of light and hope. And Mal was a dragon who hoarded everything inside herself, who cradled her own heart away from sight. Her heart that was broken long before she knew what that meant by a mother who could not and would not love her. A heart that had taken multiple beatings and cracks and continuous breakage for most of her life. That had been slowly pieced together with the help of three equally broken hearts. And as four hearts beat as one, they fit their broken edges together.

Carlos had fought his fears. Had grown, put on wiry muscles, and faced his anxiety and trauma with bravery. Slowly, the days where he would curl in on himself in fear had declined and now it was only rarely that a raised voice sent him clutching onto his friends in panic. He had met someone who looked up to him like he was a hero. The bloody sharp edges were softened as he realized that in Auradon he was free, that Cruella could no longer burn and beat him, that here he could be strong. 

Jay had grown into his own man. He had come a long way from the deceptive boy who longed for his father's approval and spent days stealing and tricking so he would not be locked outside to fend for himself. His muscles were no longer constantly tensed and ready to jump into action at any moment. He had found a place where he could use his skills for enjoyment, where he could rely on others to depend on him when the situation wasn’t life threatening; and black and burnt edges accommodated others to fit with him more gently.

And Evie. The fairest of them all. A girl who was berated and shamed and starved under the critical eye of her mother. No longer did she spend hours in front of her mirror in  disgust at her own reflection, layering on make-up. Time and support from her friends had led to her truly blossoming, believing that she was not only beautiful, but also that she was so much more than that, that she was perfect. And those delicate reflective edges were smoothed down to show the beauty inside and out.

Mal knew she had come a long way as well from that love starved angry kid that thought she would always be a disappointment. She was more than just her mother’s partial shadow, she was someone who would step up and do the right thing, even if it required personal sacrifice. She embraced both the darkness inside of herself and the good that she had only recently learned she could be, and used them both to slowly heal over the sides of herself that not even her family could once touch. The parts too sharp and wicked for her to share with them.

With all their growth from the delinquent teenagers they had been what seemed liked so long ago, Mal was the first to realize that the four of them no longer complimented each other as they once did. She had been so used to those three looming presences backing up her claims with pure muscle and a  quick wit that she was ashamed of herself for not noticing sooner when she realized things between them were different now. When someone said something that made her grind her teeth, Jay no longer felt the need to step forward, fist clenched and ready to beat them in submission. When something seemed too far-fetched or dangerous to get done, no longer did she only have to glance sideways to know that Carlos was already doing quick calculations in his head because he knew exactly what she needed. When someone was becoming an annoyance or inconvenience, no longer could she expect a sly Evie to stride forward, casually weaving her manipulations to corner them right where Mal wanted.

Things were different now. And if the four of them weren’t intertwined anymore,  then everything she was fighting for would only be a hollow victory.

-

With school currently on break after the year ended, Auradon Prep had been empty when Audrey had her brief brush with evil. Evie had been able to get a small house for herself with the rising success of her fashion line, Mal had been extended an invitation to Beast Castle while she navigated life as a Lady in a relationship with the king, and Jay and Carlos were staying together in a small cottage that Ben had lent them while Carlos waited to start his final year at school and Jay decided what he wanted to do with his future. 

The people from the Isle of the Lost had been split mostly into three groups. The pre-teens and children were staying in houses surrounding Evie’s place. The teenagers and those in their early twenties were staying at  Auradon prep. While the adults, the ones who had been imprisoned for the more minor crimes like thievery or had turned themselves in after the barrier was down, had been placed in the city as things were waiting to be settled. There was some overlap of course, with the few parents who had actually cared for their children not willing to be separated, or the younger children who wished to remain with  older  siblings. 

Mal had found herself staying more and more at the school, her days spent traveling between the city and visiting the children, helping any way she could to make sure that everyone was as comfortable as possible. Surprisingly, Uma had been a huge help with keeping the rowdiest of the people their age in line, those who had suffered the most. 

She had been able to witness the reemergence of Freddie and CJ, who had both disappeared while she had been getting caught up in pretending to be a true court lady before she had run back to The Isle . She saw Freddie seem to just appear out of the shadows at Evie’s house where Celia was staying with Dr.Facilier. She had looked tired, but much healthier than when she had first managed to smuggle herself out of The Isle.  Dr.Facilier was truly the exception to the rules of terrible villain parents, because while he cared nothing for those that he tricked into making deals with him, he clearly loved his daughters as much as someone with a heart of darkness could. And with the family reunited, Mal could feel the guilt she had carried ever since she realized that Freddie was missing  finally  ease.

CJ had been even more surprising. Harriet Hook, who had looked out for her brother the best she could, even when she didn’t like the way Uma and her crew did things, had been the one to reach out to Harry. Harry Hook who had let himself fall into his craze while on The Isle, was pulling himself back together with the help of Uma and Gil. There had been no hesitation on his part; letting Harriet fully be a part of his life again and it had been during this reunion that CJ, who had always been more mischievous than truly wicked, had dropped back in on them, literally as she had been dangling from a rope. And away from the cruelty of The Isle, away from the harshness of their father, the three siblings embraced; and if tears dripped onto one another and apologies were whispered, well no one  was watching them to see it .

It had been on a day that Mal found herself back at the castle briefly, packing up some more of the enormous closet she hadn’t even realized she now had, that she ran into Ben for the first time in days. They had exchanged conversation on the phone, and Ben didn’t blame her for being so busy as he himself was running ragged as the Royal Council decided what would be done with the people they held in the dungeons. But Mal, guilt settling in her stomach, knew that she was purposely avoiding both the castle and Ben.

“Mal, hi! I was hoping to run into you. Are you going to be coming back home?”

Home.

Mal of The Isle who had never had a true home. Who grew up in a trashed castle from where her mother sneered at the downtrodden, the stone floors stained more than once with her own  blood. Who had wandered into the Forbidden Fortress of Maleficent and had found nothing but leftover hatred and pain, and had walked out with the beginnings of a fragile family born from  loneliness. Who had carved out a safe space for her friends, hidden away among the rest of the garbage, with savage violence and vicious threats. Who had been pushed into clean  _ safe  _ Auradon and had been giving a room with her best friend where she had eventually found comfort in the pastels as long as Evie was there  too. Who hated the extravagance of a castle that had entirely too much of everything while her people had fought and died for  scraps.

“I’m just picking up some clothing to take back to Auradon Prep, a lot of the girls really appreciate being able to change out of their rags.”

The guilt grew as she saw his face fall in both sadness and shame. She didn’t say it to hurt his feelings, she had only been thinking of the too thin teenagers who were still wearing the remains of their Isle clothing.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about clothing since they all had access to shelter now. I’ll look into getting some things sent for the guys as well, and things for the people in the city and the children.”

“Thank you, Ben. I’m sure Evie is doing her best with the young ones, and Carlos and Jay have been providing as much of their own things as they can, but I really would appreciate anything at all being sent to the city. They’re the ones that I haven’t been able to do much about yet.” 

She looked as Ben sighed and rubbed at his forehead as he walked to the edge of her bed and sat down. His tired eyes caught hers and he gave her a small smile and patted the space next to him. There was only a small  moment of  hesitation before she sat down as well, their legs pressing against each other.

“Mal, can you please be honest with me? I haven't seen you in days, are you avoiding me?”

“We’ve both had our hands full with everything since the barrier went down. Things are just not moving as fast as they could be with the council.”

“You’re going to be the Queen of  Auradon soon, are you sure you don’t want to be with me at the council meetings? Not only would it be good practice, but it will really be more meaningful for someone from The Isle to be the one explaining what needs to be  d one. Not to mention that we’re having some trouble sorting through the prisoners.”

He was right and being so nice about it, not willing to push her. But the thought of stuffing herself into a dress and sitting down over tea with the people who had imprisoned them there and begging for understanding and help, made her sick to her stomach. They were the ones who had benefited from throwing everyone they found inconvenient inside that bubble and forgetting about it for this long; and she would have to explain why the children cried at night, or why the teenagers attacked anyone who got too close, or that the adult in the city were just too scared of being sent back and didn’t actually mean their threats. She would be looked as the future queen, expected to propose action that would benefit everyone in the kingdoms. And as much as she had accepted being good (to a degree of course,) she couldn’t bring herself to care about helping out the pampered children of the kingdoms when all she wanted was to fight for any piece of happiness she could elk out for her people.

“Ben, I can’t. It was bad enough having to sit through them when we were just dating, but now I’ll actually have to sit there and convince them to just give us what we need.”

They both caught the use of  _ us _ but Ben was kind enough to pretend to overlook it as he grabbed her smaller hands in his.

“Mal. Do you love me?”

Something cold and wary gripped her heart. On  The Isle, there was no room for love. There was only survival and usefulness. Parents did not love their children, they controlled them. Children did not love their friends or even have friends, they had allies that they worked with to achieve their own goals. Leaders only had followers who they utilized for their skills to guard their territory in exchange for personal protection. Mal didn’t love Evie with her perfect smile and gentle hands that carefully bandaged her injuries, she only admired how she spun manipulation to their benefit. Mal didn’t love Jay’s protective streak that never left her back exposed to attack, she only appreciated his loyalty and strength. Mal didn’t love Carlos’ shy mumbles when presenting his latest invention, she only approved of his useful intelligence. 

But she did love them. 

Even when she couldn’t say it, she showed it then and she shows it now. She always made sure Jay went back to the Junk Shop with something even on days where he didn’t have enough time to steal for himself. She went to every tourney game and shouted her support when he did anything even though she had no idea what was going on. She sat next to a quivering Carlos after he crawled to the warehouse covered in fresh bruises and blood, close enough for him to feel her warmth but not enough to touch. She made a point to exclaim proudly at every new achievement he showed them and snarled at any of the students who gave him looks of pity when he flinched. She made sure that Evie always had some food in her stomach, even if it meant that Mal would not be able to eat that day. She held Evie close in the middle of the night when one or both of them woke up whimpering from nightmares.

And sometimes she could say it. A whispered declaration into Carlos’ hair after he threw himself into her arms without warning because he had missed her while she was away for a few days. A mumbled statement into Jay’s muscular chest when he pulled her in to show his appreciation when she cancelled a date with Ben to see his sword fighting competition. A public fact said in front of everyone because Evie’s heart was beautiful and she needed to tell her that, even if it wasn’t the right moment, Mal loved her. And the shy  _ I love you  _ _ too’s _ given to Ben when he said it to her, eyes bright with happiness.

“Of course I love you.”

Those same eyes that usually looked at her with devotion, flashed with something Mal knew all too well. Disappointment.

“Do you actually want to marry me? Become Queen of Auradon and settle down in this castle for the rest of your life?”

He knew. He knew and wanted her to look him in the eye and tell him that no, she hadn’t ever wanted to marry him.

“Ben...”

“Mal please. I love you, and I know that you care about me too; we’ve been through too much together to not have this bond. Our relationship started built on a lie, don’t let it continue forward on a different lie.”

She pulled her hand s away from his and instead hugged herself, vision blurring from stupid emotional tears that her mother would have beat her for a year ago. It was time to be honest with him, it was the least she could do.

“No. I don’t want to marry you. I don’t want to be Queen of Auradon. I don’t want to rule your kingdom, or sit on your royal council trying to appease everyone, or go to meaningless parades just to look pretty, or host grand balls for every little occasion. I don’t want to manage a castle full of servants and objects worth more than everything on The Isle put together, or pretend to care about gossip from other kingdoms when it doesn’t affect me in the slightest. I don’t want to wear your mother’s crown on my head and become some pretty and shallow eye candy for the rest of my life.”

The silence between them was thick and Mal felt like she was choking on it. She pretended she didn’t see his shoulders slump and how he covered his face with his hands.

“Why did you say yes?”

“I didn’t think I had a choice. Not in front of everyone, not after everything you’ve done for us.”

His head snapped up and watery eyes locked onto her own. Horror and anguish on his face.

“I didn’t do everything for you to feel like you’re obligated to be with me! I thought you were happy...”

“I thought so too. But Ben look at me. Sitting in th is lavish room dressed in scuffed leather. Look at me, offered a kingdom on a silver platter and all I can think about is how many children will need warm clothing for when it starts to get cold. I’m not a lady of the Auradon Court, and I regret pretending I was.”

“I think you look beautiful Mal. The court needs someone who has actually experienced the hardship of The Isle of the Lost to motivate them to change the way things are done. You can be anything you want to be, I will always support you.”

She let out a choked sob, even as she broke his heart, he was trying so hard to be good to her. But even still, he didn’t understand her.

“Ben you’re going to be a great king, you’ve already done so much good. But I can’t be the kind of queen your mother is.” He opened his mouth to disagree but she quickly continued. “Belle is great in her own way, she ruled  Auradon for two decades just fine, but I don’t  _ want _ to rule  Auradon .” 

Left unsaid was that she did want to rule. Just not their way. And she wasn’t evil enough to take it and change it by force. Not anymore.

They sat in silence for a long time, only interrupted by their sniffles. Minutes. An hour.

“What does this mean for us?”

Mal gathered herself. Took the opportunity he let her have to put up a barrier  to hide her emotions and steel her resolution. Slowly she stood and carefully removed his ring from her finger. She could feel his gaze on her as she put it down on the dresser.

“I’ll stay at the school for now while I find a more permanent place. I do love you Ben, and I will always appreciate everything you’ve done for us. But I can’t love you the way you deserve from a lifelong partner.”

She went to the door before pausing and going back to her bedside table, picking up the terrarium with some effort and heading out.

The last thing Ben heard before he was left alone to his grief was a small resigned  murm u r .

“Come mother, you don’t belong here either.”

-

She had been staying in her and Evie’s old room out of sentimentality, with Evie’s side of the room now occupied by a smug Uma. So it was no surprise that as she and her mother had a staring contest through the glass of the terrarium, because of course her mother was still a petty woman even as a lizard, Uma came bursting in with a wide smile and slightly crazed eyes. 

Uma had become someone that Mal had come to heavily rely on; while Mal was running herself  to the ground  trying to make sure everyone was cared for, the pirates had taken up the duty of keeping the peace, surprisingly with less violence than she had expected. They still snarled at each frequently, but it was becoming more tolerable to think of each other as something approaching friends. But every night that she came to crash in the room and saw Uma already there, Mal felt a heaviness in her heart as she realized that she saw more of Uma than she did her family these days.

“While you were locked in here staring at your pet mother, a carriage came in with a bunch of mismatched clothing. Most of it was used b ut still leagues better than any of the crap we had on The Isle, even had a bunch of warm covers.”

Mal looked away from the lizard, swearing it gave her a smug gleam, she eyed the other girl who carried a couple of said covers and dumped them onto the other bed. It had been three days since Mal had left  Beast Castle , and Ben. There had been no official proclamation made, but the word had already spread on the split between the King and his now ex-fiancée. Some of the people from The Isle had looked at her with distrust at first, thinking that this would mean they would be exiled back behind the barrier; but so far, the only action had been a subtle distancing from the royals as whole.

Carlos and Jay had taken it upon themselves to move back into their old room, which had been occupied by Harry and Gil and there had been a brawl between the four of them that ended in bruises, satisfied smirks, and the four of them rooming together. They had both subtly asked Mal if she wanted Ben to be roughed up and the dark gleam in their eyes had touched Mal, because even if they were growing away from each other, they would always have each other's backs even if the perceived opponent was the king that had been their friend since the day they had arrived in Auradon.

After reassuring them, and Evie who had shown up at the school as soon as she heard, that she had been the one to end things, they hadn’t pried. Jay was even contemplating staying to help her settle the people from The Isle for a bit, which she didn’t give an opinion on as she selfishly wanted to have him close but also wanted him to be happy even if it meant leaving for a while. She knew they were all curious as to why she had ended her relationship with Ben after everything, and she had all intentions of telling them of her desire, but she wanted to hold on to that darkness just a little longer. They would offer her comfort and understanding, they would support her no matter what, and as much as she wanted that, she was also scared of showing them that maybe she hadn’t changed as much as they thought.

Uma gave her a once over, taking note of the files that Mal had spread on her bed, pictures of some of the orphaned children attached.

“What’s that?”

Mal looked down at the picture on top, a young boy with sad dark eyes.

“I’m trying to organize where their families were originally from, most don’t know but some have an idea, and seeing if they would like to go back. I’m going to do the ones staying here next and then the people in the city,  hopefully by then I’ll have a solid idea as to how to approach the royals to convince them to let them find homes in their kingdoms.”

Uma made a face at the word hopefully before heading back to the door.

“Sure, whatever. But I don’t think,” and here she ignored  Mal’s malicious snort, “that most of them will let themselves be split up. From what I’ve seen when I’ve gone over there, they’ve latched on to each other.”

Mal huffed in agreement as there was a knock on the door before it was pulled open by a harried Evie. Mal hadn’t even known that Evie was at the school or she would have been with her instead of brooding alone.  Evie blinked at Uma, a shadow crossing her face before ignoring her altogether and looking at Mal, brown eyes filled with concern.

“Mal, Audrey is  here. With her parents and Fairy Godmother.”  Mal’s mind went blank, and so did her face because Evie was quick to step forward and anxiously reach for her. “They want to speak with you in Fairy Godmother’s office.”

Mal’s throat felt dry, she couldn’t form words, choosing instead to blindly take Evie’s hand, fingers quickly intertwining, and letting her pull her up and lead her out after a momentary pause. Uma was left alone before she also left with an amused snort. They reached the office quickly, the tense silence forming a barrier between each other as neither knew what to say.  Mal’s grip tightening when Evie made to pull away, her expression pleading.

Stay with me.

And , with a nervous swallow, Evie nodded and opened the door.

Mal’s eyes were instantly drawn to the woman that sat at Audrey’s side, the woman who her mother had cursed to eternal sleep. Audrey took more after her father with only subtle hints of Aurora, because the woman was breathtaking even with the marks of age around her eyes. And Mal knew her face well, despite always making an effort to avoid it the few times they had been in the same place. She had looked at it for hours when she had found the careful ly hand drawn picture tucked into the spell book that Maleficent had given her right before leaving for  Auradon . 

Mal knew that she it wasn’t hate she felt when looking at the woman, Evie leading her to a seat across from the family and next to Fairy Godmother. It was envy. Because those careful creases and blurred spots meant that her mother had felt love once in her life, and it hadn’t been for her daughter.

Audrey cleared her throat awkwardly before looking up at the two new arrivals, her voice the soft careful tone she had been using since after Hades had saved her. “Mal, Evie, these are my parents. King Phillip and Queen Aurora. Mom, dad, this is Mal and Evie, from The Isle of the Lost.”

They were all already sitting down, so they skipped over any formalities that were usually observed when meeting with royalty, much to  Mal’s relief, and only stiff head bows were exchanged. After a minute of tension and eyeing each other, Fairy Godmother took control of the conversation by looking right at Mal, her usual cheer replaced with lines of stress.

“Mal, I don’t know how much you knew of  Maleficent’s titles,” she ignored  Mal’s scoff. “But while her favorite one was Mistress of All Evil, she had another,  arguably more important one that she did not follow through with after the birth of Queen Aurora.”

Mal was intrigued, especially when she saw the queen tense at the mention of her name. To her surprise, it was Aurora who continued, blue eyes pointedly meeting green.

“Maleficent was ruler of The Moors, a land mostly inhabited by the  fae . And while they do not use titles such as Queen, that is essentially what she was.”  Mal’s heart started to race and s he s queezed Evie’s hand. “After her death and later imprisonment, I kept an eye on The Moors, but it had been mostly self-governed even before.”

“Why tell me now?” Mal asked softly, eyes never leaving Aurora. She saw the queen swallow  nervously .

“We have been running around in circles at the council meetings, no one can agree on what to do with anyone from The Isle of the Lost. And Audrey has shared with us that you have been working nonstop trying to take on the burden all by yourself while we don’t accomplish anything!”

Aurora had practically shouted the last word and Phillip reached over to place his hand over hers, a soft supportive smile on his face as she took a shaky breath. Mal couldn’t help but feel like she was intruding and instead looked over at Fairy Godmother, who was already looking back at her.

“Mal, she might have never acknowledged the title, but Maleficent was the queen of the  fae , and all those that settled in The Moors. And as her daughter, you have the right to claim the title.”

She couldn’t breathe, everything around her was muffled. A home for her people where they could start over, away from the judgement of  Auradon and the blight of The Isle. A place where she would be queen in her own way, in a way that mattered. Could it really be so easy? They had to be lying.

“Mal.” She blinked and everything came back into focus, Evie was leaning in close, brown eyes sparkling with hope, her open expression showing encouragement. But Evie was also smart and tended to think of details that sometimes eluded Mal and she was asking if she could ask questions. With a faint nod, Mal leaned against her and pushed down her doubts for the moment. “Fairy Godmother, would the people from The Moors even accept Mal as their ruler? If they  have  got ten used to self-governing in the past twenty or so years, then they might think they don’t need the daughter of their previous absentee, and imprisoned queen.”

Phillip seemed to only be there in support of his wife, while Audrey had been brought in to make introductions and as a point of familiarity, but it was obvious that this has been something that Aurora and Fairy Godmother had thought about  intensively before coming to Mal. 

“As it is, The Moors is one of the few places that is heavily saturated with magic naturally, the others being Neverland and Wonderland. And as you know, magic, especially fae magic, has a will of its own. Maleficent was the leader of The Moors not because she inherited it, but because she was the most powerful being in that land.” Fairy Godmother paused as she flushed in slight embarrassment as she admitted that the Maleficent had been more powerful than her. “The chaotic magic latched onto her and she claimed it for herself. After her demise, none of the fae bothered to take control, more than happy to just be.”

“But while keeping an eye out, I noticed that even though the  fae don’t seem to care much as they live mostly out in the wilds; the few towns that the others had built were starting to suffer due to the lack of structure. They’ve done their best, communicating with one another and asking the  fae to help, but I fear it is only a matter of time before the non- fae begin to feel like they must leave for other places to survive.” Aurora had clutched back to her determination, her gaze intense. “Fairy Godmother and I believe that with the strength of your heritage, you would be able to take leadership. And with the right help, you would be able to bring prosperity to The Moors.”

Mal knew she could as well. The  fae blood that she had inherited from her mother was powerful, enough so that she could take the form of a fearsome dragon. And coupled with the ever-burning divine magic she had from her father, from being a demi-god, she was more powerful than even she thought she was; she only had to finally embrace both sides of herself, like she had come to terms with being both wicked and good. But there was still doubt in her heart. Her mother had been less than an ideal ruler, King Adam had been a negligent one, and Ben was still trying to figure things out himself. With no good influences, and the only real experience being terrorizing the streets of The Isle with force, could she really trust herself to run a whole kingdom?

So she did what she always did when she was hesitant to proceed, she look to her family to provide some insight.

“This is everything you could have ever wanted, are you going to accept?” Evie whispered to her, her open expression full of belief in Mal , a hopeful smile slowly forming.

Just looking at Evie, who had always supported her even when she had been a malicious brat that took pleasure in bringing chaos, made h appiness bubble in her chest. Her own shy smile  emerging . Evie didn’t doubt, and Mal knew better than to doubt Evie.

“One  question before I can agree.” She looked at Aurora and her family, then to Fairy Godmother . “Does it come with a castle grand enough for a princess who deserves everything? Because my mother’s gloomy fortress is on The Isle, and I have no idea how that happened. ”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal was given a land that her mother abandoned even before her death, now she just had to convince her people that it was the best place for all of them. And maybe find a way to bring her family along too. (Slight divergences from Descendants 3.)

Mal and Evie were laying together in her bed after leaving Fairy Godmother’s office, legs tangled as they both ignored the lizard on the bedside table that paced and tried to garner attention. 

“I know that things are just kicking off with Evie’s 4 Hearts, and we don’t exactly know anything about The Moors’ economy, but will you consider coming with me?” 

She tried to be casual about it, and Mal knew that she would still go for the sake of the people from The Isle even if Evie chose to stay in Auradon, but she would be heartbroken. And considering that she didn’t know how the boys would react, she might end up leaving more of herself behind than she could bear. 

A familiar warm hand slipped into hers, long elegant fingers easily fitting between her own. “Mal, I love designing and creating, I have since we were on The Isle and I saw the look on your faces when I gave any of you a new piece of clothing I made just for you. It was something that I was good at and enjoyed doing, unlike those etiquette lessons and flower arrangement hobby and other things my mother forced on me. And coming to Auradon, where I had so much more to work with and so many different people who loved my designs, it was the natural next step to start Evie’s 4 Hearts. But it isn’t the only thing to me, or even close to the most important thing I care about.” 

Mal knew this, of course she did, Evie was her best friend and as much pride as she felt whenever someone made a comment about how gorgeous Evie’s latest outfit was, she knew that when it came down to it, it didn’t matter as much as Evie pretended it did. Because Evie _liked_ the idea of becoming a household name thanks to her original dresses for famous royals, but she _loved_ being able to stitch together quirky leather outfits personalized to kids who grew up knowing nothing but worn out scraps of clothing. Evie liked the idea of fame, but she loved Mal more. And if Mal needed her, then there was no choice at all. 

“Not only will you need a super cute, super smart advisor that isn’t scared to tell you when something isn’t right; all the people from The Isle, and the ones who already live in The Moors, still need to be clothed. Evie’s 4 Hearts will just be changing clientele.” 

The door was thrown open before Mal could reply, Carlos and Jay having never learned common courtesy when it was meant to just be the four of them. It came from staying in the hideout so often, no doors or walls to prevent stumbling into one another and lessening the need for privacy with each other. Though Carlos still did unconsciously lock the door behind them out of habit, causing Mal to internally snicker at the fact that Uma would be locked out the next time she tried to get in. 

“So what’s this about super urgent gang business?” Jay said, throwing himself onto the foot of the occupied bed and referring to the text message Mal had sent to them. 

Carlos frowned at Maleficent, always aware of her presence, and squeezed himself onto the edge of the bed, despite the rest of the enormous room being available. Sometimes the four of them still found themselves crowding each other, needed the reassurance of their closeness again; because Auradon was big and open but they grew up where everything was crowded and practically on top of each other. And just feeling the others right next to them was enough to remember that they weren’t alone. 

“Wait until you hear this.” Mal told them with a wicked smirk. 

\- 

“And there is a castle, Maleficent just didn’t use it and had her minions build the Forbidden Fortress instead because it wasn’t her style. The Faery Castle. Maybe she had the right idea with that kind of name.” 

Jay and Carlos had both become increasingly excited as they were told about The Moors, the knot of worry they had been carrying since it became obvious that Auradon had no idea what do with its sudden influx of people had loosened considerably. And even the fear that lingered in the back of their minds at the thought of their parents being able to drop in at any moment was temporarily quiet. 

Evie and Mal had sat up and the four of them were now casually leaning against one another. Mal was comfortable staying silent for a few minutes as everyone mulled over what this could mean for themselves while teasingly coming up with new names for the castle that grew increasingly ridiculous. But the burning question at the tip of her tongue had to come out sooner rather than later. 

“Jay, I know you and Gil wanted to go off and explore the world for a year before coming back and going to college. And Carlos, I know you want to finish high school here; but would either of you consider coming to The Moors afterwards? I will always have room in the castle for both of you.” 

Jay and Carlos both looked at her in surprise and more than a little offense. And before Mal could react, Jay had her in a headlock, arms pulled up, while Carlos was grinning like a madman, fingers digging into her sides. After five solid minutes of indigent squealing and yelled promises of vengeance, Mal finally managed to wiggle away and was giving Evie a look of betrayal as she had sat by without lifting a finger to help. Both Jay and Carlos were still sported matching wide grins and fresh bruises where she had fought to free herself. 

“Mal. Gil and I were going to explore the world past this boring little patch of land and that rock we grew up on. Not only is a magic land full of fae and new experiences exactly what we wanted to see, but I would never let you do something like this without me.” 

“It’s the four of us, no matter what.” Carlos said, his puppy smile in place and he looked at her shyly. “Sure, I wanted to finish school, but that was more because Dragon Hall was a joke and I kind of liked being the smartest kid in the class and it actually meaning something. And maybe I’ll come back to college and pick up some classes, but my place is with you. Oh, and I definitely want to be the official royal engineer.” 

“If he gets a royal title, then I want one too!” 

Mal scoffed lovingly at them. “How about Lord of Idiots?” Leaving him to his pouting, Mal looked at Carlos. “What about Jane?” 

He blushed and let out an awkward laugh. “Uh, yeah. I’ll have to talk to her about it and see where this is going to leave us. But she’s part fairy too, you know? Maybe she’ll love a chance to spend time in a land of magic like that, she hasn’t exactly been using much magic at all.” 

Mal looks at Evie next, Evie who now had a guarded expression on her face like she knew what Mal wanted to say to her. They hadn’t talked about it, how Evie had kissed Doug and he hadn’t woken up from Audrey’s enchanted sleep. How she hadn’t told him but Uma sure had, and their relationship was broken, with him moving out and never being brought up in conversation again. How Mal hadn’t used true loves kiss to break Ben’s own curse and instead burned it away using Hade’s Ember because the thought of true love made her uneasy; and she had told Evie in private afterwards that she didn’t think Ben was her true love so she didn’t want to risk it. Mal wanted to make sure Evie wouldn't have any regrets left in this place.

But Mal didn’t say anything and instead changed the topic. 

“Fairy Godmother is trying to dig up a map of The Moors so we can get a better idea of what we’re working with. There are only a couple of big bustling towns with a spread of smaller villages through the rest of the land. But one of the big towns is at the edge of The Moors, on the coast. I was thinking of letting Uma have a go at leading it.” 

Jay broke out into loud gleeful laughter and when everyone else looked at him in shock he could barely hold himself together. “Who would have thought that the girl we hated on The Isle and constantly clashed with, the same girl that half a year ago tried to take over Auradon and turned into a giant octopus to try and drown you, would be the same one we were sure would be a good town leader. Auradon is weird as hell guys.” 

That threw the rest of them into a fit of laughter as well. And they all knew that it wasn’t that Auradon was weird, it was that they had been forced to grow up much too fast. They had lived lifetimes of hardships that caused them to fight and nearly kill each other just to survive another day on The Isle; and any of them could and would have made a desperate attempt like Uma had at the chance of freedom. But now, they had the means to move pass grudges and build something wonderful together. It would be selfish to keep it all to themselves when everyone on The Isle had suffered just as much as they had and the only difference was that Mal and her friends had been lucky enough to be given a chance a year ago. Now they were going to give that same chance to everyone else. 

“I’ve been thinking about what to do with the prisoners.” Mal said softly, eyes on Carlos who had stiffened. “Some of them, I will suggest to be properly tried and punished in their home countries, or at least where they committed their crimes. But I believe that some would be too dangerous or personal to not take with us, I will be talking to the children of those and ask what they think the right choice would be. Madam Mim, for instance, is old and crazy and didn’t run or put up a fight. But now that she has magic again, I want her under magical lock and key.” 

She trailed off and Evie gave her a meaningful look, because Mal was going to be a queen; she couldn’t leave a question lingering unasked even if it made everyone uncomfortable. “Carlos, what do you want me to do about Cruella? I am more than willing to let the Charmings drag her back to their kingdom and lock her away forever, but I will also take her with us if you would prefer.” 

For a moment, Carlos looked like he did a year ago. Small and weak and beaten into thinking he was nothing more than a disobedient pet. But the three of them did not look away from him, offering him their strength to use as his own, they watched him try to gather himself and were ready to support him if he couldn’t. But he did. 

“Yeah. Let’s take her with us.” He looked each of them in the eye, iron will trying desperately to hide the tiny spark of vulnerability. “She was awful. She hurt and enslaved me, she never ever showed me any affection and took joy in letting me suffer. But she’s still my mother, and even if it makes me sound stupid and hopeless, I still...” He trailed off, looking away in shame. 

Because he still loved her. His horrible excuse for a mother that never once did anything for him. And their hearts broke, because they knew that they were the same. Jay who still wanted his father’s approval, Evie who wanted her mother to look at her and say she was enough, and Mal who just wanted her mother to show an ounce of pride. They were truly broken children. 

“Then we’ll take her and put her in the castle’s dungeons. And we’ll show her that we are not like them, that you are a better person than she ever was by showing them human dignity.” And then Mal looked at Jay and Evie. “And I will protect everyone, especially the three of you, from anything that may happen in the future.” 

\- 

Mal had waited alone in her room for Uma, the boys had headed out to keep an eye on the pirates keeping an eye on the teenagers, and Evie had gone back home to make sure none of the children without parents tried to do anything dangerous when no one was looking. But the four of them had agreed that Uma should be told separate from the rest of the people, out of mutual respect and in the hopes that she would throw in her support. So when a tired Uma entered the room with a satisfied smile on her face, she found Mal sitting on her bed shooting her an amused look. 

“What are you looking at?” She was quick to snap and wipe the smile off her face. 

Instead of snarking back, Mal decided that neither of them would benefit from putting this conversation off. 

“I’m going to The Moors, the home of the fae that my mother abandoned.” Uma’s eyebrows shot up but she let Mal continue. “Fairy Godmother believes that the land and its people will accept me as their new Fairy Queen because of my connection to it and the magic in my blood.” 

Uma’s stunned face would have been delicious at any other time; but right now, not even that could ease the nervous knots in Mal’s stomach. She locked eyes with the other girl and let her see all the hope and desperation that she carried. 

“I intend to take everyone from The Isle who wants to go with me and give them a home away from the reach Auradon.” 

“And you really think this’ll end like a perfect little fairy tale? We’ll all just happily skip to your new castle and pledge ourselves to you? Don’t be so naive Mal, we both know that even happy endings are lies for us. We will never be free from that forsaken island.” 

Mal stood from her bed and approached Uma, who had turned her back to her, shoulders shaking. 

“Auradon will never understand us Uma. These royals will never know what it meant to be a child and already have blood on your hands. They will never know the pain of parents who raised their children with nothing but contempt. They will never know the fear that we live with knowing that some of our worst nightmares are now free. But I know how that feels Uma. I bled and starved and struggled right next to you. I took and hated and hurt with my own hands, and did not regret it at the time. But it is because I have so much to make up for, because I personally have seen and experienced the horrors of The Isle, that I know I can be a good queen. I know that going to The Moors and taking that title will put me on the path to becoming powerful enough that nothing will ever hurt any of you, any of us, again.” 

She tentatively hugged Uma loosely, ready to let go if she pulled away. But Uma did not, instead she silently cried, finally releasing all her pain and hopelessness, and taking comfort in someone who would neither pity or think less of her. And they stood like that for several long and heavy minutes.

“I will fight for each and every single person that lived on that rock, to give you all a chance at finally having a home. I already have all these plans for us to truly make The Moors ours, alongside the fae of course. Fairy Godmother told me of a village town where the waters near the shore is full of crystals that wash everything in light when the sun is at its peak. I want you to lead this town Uma, there is no one I trust more to do this.” 

Her shoulders stilled at last and Mal could hear a watery laugh. “Bribes will get you everywhere.” And then after a pause, “Do you really think you can do this?” 

“Not by myself. But I have my family to help me, and you.” 

Uma finally pulled away and turned to look at Mal, and Mal saw everything that her own eyes carried. Darkness shaped by a bitter mother, carefully guarded emotions, and the beginnings of a hope that The Isle was not able to stomp out of them. 

“You’re offering us a home, a place that can be ours far away from here.” And for the first time in her life, Uma fell into a stiff bow. “I am with you, my queen.” 

\- 

Uma had sent out her pirates to gather up everyone from The Isle outside of the school, including children and the adults that had been staying in the city. It was crowded, much like they had been used to for twenty years, and everyone was filled to the brim with curiosity when they noticed not a single Auradon citizen. Instead, standing on a raised platform were Mal, Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Uma dressed in their nicest remaining leathers. Mal was center stage, her face set in determination and while she was not standing tall physically, her demeanor still towered over everyone gathered. 

Using a spell to amplify her words, she began, everyone quickly falling silent as they once had for Maleficent. 

“People formerly of The Isle of the Lost, people who were condemned to imprisonment by the will of pampered royals that know nothing of suffering, I stand in front of you today not as the daughter of Maleficent; but as the future Fairy Queen.” 

The air was suddenly heavy and full of whispers. Mal gave them their moment to take in her announcement. Her eyes and ears, sharper than a human, taking in the varying reactions of the crowd. She could see the huns that had once lived in a clearing they had stomped out in the forest, mumble about the absurdity her coming to the title. She could see the younger teenagers and children shake with excitement at what this could mean. She could see the adults that had been unfairly thrown in with murderers and true villains look at her in doubt. But she could also see the calculating gazes of the Faciliers, all three of them already having an idea of what this could lead to. She could see Harriet Hook and all the pirates glancing at her and Uma in dawning comprehension. She could see the witches surrounding Mad Maddy speak of potential magical practices coming to them. And she continued, the fire in her veins burning pleasantly. 

“I have been informed of the abandoned throne in The Moors left by Maleficent that only a fairy of powerful magic can take. I have been assured that the fae live peacefully and wild among the people who have made their way to live in The Moors and built their own homes. I have been told that there is no ruling structure in the land and it is causing the villages to fail. But I say, this free country full of life and open space only needs someone who can get things moving to become even greater than this boring land we stand on right now. I say, who better to live on this open magical land and bring greatness to it than those who had nothing for twenty years, those who will take this freedom and finally have a place that is theirs. I say, I will take this crown and with it give you all, my people, a home!” 

There was a roar of cheering as many of those beaten down people took her words and held it to their battered hearts. 

“Already I have made more progress with your future happiness in one day than Auradon has made in weeks. I have spoken with Uma who has agreed to take over leadership of the shore town with anyone who wishes to follow her and build their lives away from the castle where I will live.” She pointed to Uma who gave the crowd her most wicked smile. “I have spoken to Fairy Godmother who has told me of all these beautiful uninhabited places where the fae will be more than happy to help anyone settle down in. A fresh start for each and every one of you. This is what I offer you!” 

Even the huns faces had warmed considerably as everyone took in everything she was giving them. They looked at her in near awe, they looked at her with respect as she stood there with her hair barely brushed back and in an outfit that was scuffed from rough housing and gloves that had a rip that had been sown fixed with a different color. They looked at her like she was worthy of everything Fairy Godmother and Aurora had dropped into her lap just the day before. A look that they had never given Maleficent, a look that the Auradon royals had never given her, a look that filled her with confidence that this was what she was always meant to be. 

“I will give you a home. I will fight for you. I will protect you. I will make sure you never go hungry or suffer ever again. All I ask is for you to take me as your queen. What say you, people of The Moors?” 

She hadn’t planned it, but in hindsight maybe Carlos had, because one by one, her friends knelt on one knee. First Carlos, then Evie, then Jay, and finally Uma, their head bowed in respect. And in front of her, the crowd followed. Every one of those villains and kids and thieves and murderers and teenager, knelt for her. Not a single person remained standing before their queen. 

“All hail Mal, Fairy Queen.” 

\- 

Mal had left Uma to organize all the people to start getting ready to leave. Meanwhile, she and her family were ready to interrupt the current meeting of the Auradon Council. They had gotten a ride from Jane, who had been gifted a tiny car as a late birthday gift from her mother and they had all squeezed in while loudly arguing the whole way over. She knew that Carlos had filled Jane in on everything and made a point of telling Jane that the fae could teach her more about her magic than she could have ever imagined in Auradon. The poor girl was flustered but smiling by the time she gently kicked them out of her car and told Carlos to let her know if they would need a ride back. 

So it was heavily disheveled that the four of them pushed right past the fumbling guards and into a room that only Mal had been in before. All the royals were there, and even some lords standing in, sitting at a long table filled with drinks and snacks. Jay and Mal both felt their anger boil at seeing how casually they were being with the lives of their people; no wonder nothing was getting done, they were too busy eating tiny sandwiches. But before either of them could open their mouths, Carlos stepped forward and bowed halfheartedly. 

“Introducing the future queen of The Moors, the fairy demigod, Mal.” 

Evie and Jay both quickly bowed to hid their amused smiles. But the royals did not look at all pleased. Ben, who Mal instantly noticed looked considerably more haggard than when she last saw him, stood up. 

“What is going on?” 

Mal made short eye contact with Fairy Godmother and Aurora before looking at Ben, seeing the man before her in a new light. He was no longer the foolish princeling that was constantly on one of the few channels they got on The Isle, or her prized target to achieve everything her mother wanted, or even the young man she had loved only because he was the first who showed her unconditional support. He was the King of Auradon that her people were trying to escape. So she puffed herself up and gathered all of the confidence that had washed over her when everyone had accepted her as their queen. 

“King Ben, council of Auradon, today I come to you as the current heir and soon to be crowned queen of the fae land known as The Moors. The place that Maleficent once ruled and has been left leaderless for over twenty years now. Today, I stand in this room not as a lady of your court, but as the leader of an independent country. As such, I claim all the people that once lived on The Isle, despite of where they formally called home, as my people. Including some of the prisoners currently being held in your dungeons.” 

The uproar was instant and loud as every royal had to say their piece. Jay was quick to stand in front of them, rising to his full height and giving anyone who looked like they wanted to approach a feral grin. Evie and Carlos were trying to calmly explain to the unhappy leaders of other countries, always good at trying to deescalate situations that Mal created by just being herself. But Ben and Mal remained looking at each other, his face set in shock as he took in her serious determination. And it was the commotion around them that allowed Mal to finish what she had come to say to the only person that needed to hear it. 

“Fairy Godmother is setting up transportation as soon as possible, we will all be leaving once the details are ironed out. King Ben, today I formally announce to you that once we have left, The Moors will stand by itself, completely apart from Auradon and your united alliance until we can come to an agreement once we’ve had time to settle in.” 

Her heart ached at his devastation. But this was for the benefit of all her people. They would never be able to truly be free until Auradon no longer had any kind of hold over them. And if she had to burn these bridges to be able to move forward, she would shoulder that with pride and strength. 

\- 

Plans were being made to mass teleport the majority of the remaining people from The Isle with the help of fae magic as many would not be able to survive extended travel to get there even in cars, weak as their bodies still were after only a few months of healing years of abuse. Less than a handful of people opted to go back to their original home countries, and even fewer children and teenagers accepted leaving the rest of them, only those that had actual loving family that tried to fight for their release over the years. And in the end, over half of the prisoners had been selected to travel back with them due to the thin threads of affection and desperation from their children and those with magic that Mal did not trust Auradon to properly contain. 

Getting control of the prisoners had honestly been easier than claiming all of the adults that were staying in the city. It had required, despite her previous refusals, her and Evie to go into several long and tiring council meeting representing The Moors, the boys opting out on the basis that they were no good at politics and were more useful getting everything set up. Unfortunately, because The Moors were not part of Auradon, and the villains and criminals were still technically citizens of their original home countries, there had been a lot of fuss that had including words like abduction being tossed out. But Evie had been quick to point out that the kingdoms had lost any kind of control over them when they sent them to The Isle of The Lost; which was, for all accounts and purposes, an independent prison island only under the watch of Auradon. And Mal, as the current heir to The Moors until she took her crown proper, had offered them citizenship in her country, which they had readily accepted. 

This had been taken poorly by several monarchs, including Cinderella who hated the idea of her stepmother and sisters being free more than she cared about upholding her image; and Tiana and Naveen, who could hardly stomach the fact that Dr.Facilier was being allowed to do as he pleased. But Ben and a few others had been solid supporters, even after Mal had been borderline rude about the whole situation, and had advocated for those who had suffered due to negligence for twenty years to be given a second chance far away from Auradon. And that had been a slap to the face that Ben had handled with dignity after Mal had explained that the only way her people would ever feel safe was by taking them away from the rule of Auradon completely, at least for now. They only wanted to be free. 

Mal didn’t think she would have been able to hold back her temper at all those meetings had Evie not been in there with her, hand squeezing her knee under the table, and coolly redirecting the conversation whenever someone started bringing up the topic of unserved punishment. It drove home the fact that while Mal knew she could be (would be) a good leader, she wasn’t exactly politician material. But Evie was. 

And as the days got colder with the ending of summer, and everyone was being gathered up at Auradon Prep for their big move to their new homes, Mal found herself more and more with Evie. Evie who had already packed up her home and stuffed everything she could into their old room, Evie who had refused to go to a different room and instead just cuddled into Mal’s bed and met every snarky comment Uma threw with a roll of her eyes. Evie who was excited to finally live in a castle of her own and help everyone find a place where they belonged. 

Evie, who whispered quiet reassurances to Mal whenever the young future queen shared her fears of failing to be a good ruler. 

Evie, who Mal had unknowingly fallen in love with somewhere between the moment she had her breakdown in the Forbidden Fortress in front of the fake mirror, and the moment Mal had refused to go through with her plan and had grabbed at the scepter first so that the curse wouldn’t hit the girl who so painfully trusted her. But those feelings had been pushed deep down; there had been no place or time for them yet. 

“Did you ever want to be a queen, or was the goal just to marry into royalty?” Mal asked her a few days before they were set to leave. They had spent the day making sure that everyone had cold weather clothing as The Moors got colder than Auradon and very few people actually had a place already picked out and ready for them to move into. The two of them were getting ready for bed, Uma yet to make her appearance back in the room as she had the tendency to stay out late with her crew. 

Evie paused in her slow brushing of her hair, making eye contact with Mal through the mirror in front of her. “I never thought about actually becoming a queen. Mom was so determined that the only important thing was being beautiful and catching the attention of a prince, she didn’t bother with any actual ruling skills. Everything I learned about how royal court actually works was from her books and journals that I read in secret. I guess a part of me did think it was important enough to risk getting punished to learn it.” 

“Well do you want to be a queen?” 

Evie hummed and put her brush down, slowly standing up and approaching Mal who had sat herself on the bed. “I don’t care about marrying a prince anymore, if that’s what you’re asking.” 

“It isn’t.” 

“I would be lying if I said that I hadn’t thought about it. But it isn’t something I need.” She reached out, offering Mal her hand. Mal readily accepted it and brought it up to her lips, leaving a lingering kiss onto the fingers that were rough from the tireless work they did. Green eyes looking intently into brown, open and trusting and full of love. 

“One day, I would like to make you a queen. Queen of The Moors with your own fairy castle to do with as you please.” 

Evie’s breathe hitched, her cheeks heating as she read the truth in Mal’s eyes. Truth that they had both overlooked for years in fear of breaking their fragile bond with each other. But their bond wasn’t fragile anymore, it wasn’t the tentative alliance of two teenagers on The Isle where everyone was ready to exploit any weakness you might show. It was a connection forged through the hardships and trust and hopes they shared, tempered with promises and sadness and heartbreak. And strengthened with dedication to one another, and knowing that no one would ever understand them as the other did. 

“And how do you plan of giving me your country?” 

“Because, one day, when you’re ready. I’m going to marry you. And then, it’ll be our country.” The tears had been unexpected, but Mal took it in stride, slowly pulling Evie to her and kissing away the tear streaks on her cheek. “But only if you want.” 

“Yes. More than anything.” 

\- 

The teleportation had upset more than a few stomachs. 

Several fae from The Moors had been summoned by Fairy Godmother with the assistance of the three good fairies that raised Aurora, where they had been more than happy to bow to Mal after she had promised that she would discuss any changes with the fae as a whole first before enacting them. Their limited teleporting powers, empowered by Mal and Fairy Godmother, had been enough to transport the hundreds of people from The Isle, including the shackled prisoners, right in the open space between the Faery Castle and the town it overlooked. And as much supplies and personal belongs that they could both carry and get away with taking from Auradon. 

The large town itself was breathtaking even from a distance. It was a combination of older wood and stone buildings with a few modernizations, and fae grove. Moss and vines and plants glowing with magic grew everywhere, off every surface, and there were beautiful trees that grew tall and sturdy. A river that was so clear it glittered, cut through the middle of the city, pixies could be seen as tiny specks playing in the running waters. The air was rich and crisp, so unlike the stench of unwashed bodies and garbage they had been used to, and wild compared to the almost artificial smell of Auradon. And then there was the magic that was thick all around them. There was so much of it, from the grass under their feet, to the cool breeze blowing through; even those that had no magic or had ever felt magic before their imprisonment could feel the tingle of it on their skin. It felt like freedom. Like the beginnings of a new life. 

“The fae are going to help us provide proper lodging for anyone that asks until we get everyone settled somewhere. Feel free to explore as far and wide as you want, this is your new home! The castle will be open for everyone, you can come in and we will find somewhere for you to start building yourself up. The coronation will be held in a few days, followed by a tour around the whole country to establish my new rule and help everyone find somewhere to belong.” 

Mal looked over at the bundled people that were looking at her with gratefulness and respect. She was still getting used to how vastly different it was from the fear and disdain aimed at her during her teenage years, from the distrust and disgust of her first few months in Auradon, from the calculation and reluctant approval during her stint as a lady of the Auradon court. A warmth spread inside of her and again that brand new feeling that she had started to get since they had bowed to her was back; Mal was _proud_ of what she was doing. It wasn’t just her trying to be good for the sake of it, or wanting others to trust that she could actually achieve something, or not wanting to disappoint her family; it was pride in finally stepping up and being who she was always meant to be. A true leader. Her mother had taught her that she was nothing to be proud of, and now, standing in front of all these people, she could finally believe that her mother was wrong. 

Evie’s hand slipped into hers, and Jay’s arm fell across her shoulders, Carlos linking arms with Evie on her other side, and together, they led the way to the castle. To their new home. 

\- 

Mal spent her first day in The Moors connecting to the magic flowing through the country. It wasn’t anything like what she had gotten used to feeling in Auradon, yet familiar in the way she felt it ripple through her body when turning into a dragon. Chaotic and dangerous and burning. Fairy Godmother had, thankfully, been right about the sentient magic of the land accepting her, she had felt it rush through every pore in her body as she called on it. She had been shown the birth of the land, had looked through every blade of grass, through every fissure in the land. And as it guided her, she spread herself, her whole being, into the empty spaces in the magic; through the delicate cracks Maleficent had made when she neglected taking care of the land, and carefully wove herself into the very life of The Moors. The warring between fairy and demigod inside of herself had stopped as the land helped her understand magic on a spiritual level, bringing a balance to the untamed chaos that had swirled under her skin. 

The fae showed up in groups at all times, all of them happily accepting Mal as the new Fairy Queen and then more than willing to help the people from The Isle. They carried the word of her across all of The Moors, bringing in more and more fae that wanted to formally introduce themselves and bow before her. 

With the help of magic and a huge assortment of friendly fae, Faery Castle was up and running within days, in time for the official Coronation that would be broadcasted audibly (via radio as The Moors did not currently have television, to Carlos’ disappointment) to both all of The Moors, and Auradon. 

Fairy Godmother had been asked to do the honors, as she had experience with that sort of official capacity and as a thank you for everything she had done for them. And while it was less glamorous than Ben’s, and way less dangerous, in a freshly built throne room that was packed with the newly fresh faced people who had once lived on The Isle of the Lost, the variety of fae that made their homes wherever in the wild they pleased, and the non-fae people that already inhabited The Moors that had come to witness a new queen be crowned; Mal knelt in front of Fairy Godmother and pledged to be the best queen she could be for the sake of all her people. And then a crown made of gold and ancient wood with a radiant green gem that seemed to pulse in time with her heart, was placed on her head, and Mal was no longer Mal of the Isle. She was no longer Maleficent the Second. She was Mal of The Moors, Fairy Queen. 

\- 

There were two large busy towns in The Moors. The one that the castle overlooked that Mal had mentally claimed as hers and Evie’s and Jay’s and Carlos’ territory, because old habits die hard; and the one on the coast that she had allowed Uma to lead, with Captain being her official lordly title. Uma had taken her whole crew, including Gil for the moment, and had offered Harriet Hook, who had also been a captain back on The Isle, the position of second in command and space for all her crew as well. Much to Mal’s surprise, Harry had been the one to suggest this as he claimed to not be mentally capable yet of such a hefty responsibility. 

The rest of the people they had brought over were spread out vastly, a lot of them choosing to make their own way with so many fae willing to help them. Freddy took her father and Celia into a small village that was deep in the forest, finding a place where they could feel their connections to the shadows under all the fae magic. Those with more witch-like magic, like Mad Maddy, made their way to a village along the outer edges of the same forest, where magical plants grew in abundance. But many just wandered off alone or in groups until they found somewhere that they found a connection with. 

A surprising number of the young kids asked to stay in the castle with Mal and her family, which they accepted without hesitation. Dizzy claimed to be Evie’s assistant so she had to stay in the castle, and shockingly, Lady Tremaine and her daughters settled in the town below the castle to stay close to her. Evie had been delighted, and unofficially became the main care taker of many of the young orphans, helped greatly by curious and kind fae that stayed close to the castle. Carlos found himself taken with Yzma and a couple of other kids that would be considered geniuses under Auradon schooling and had begun to tutor them in things that The Isle just didn’t teach. Mal had found out about her half-brother, Hadie, and had taken him and his mother in to try being a family. Jay, to everyone’s surprise, took charge of running the castle and bossing around everyone who had volunteered working in it. 

They were also kept busy working on individual projects as Mal prepared for her tour around the country. Evie wanted to establish Evie’s 4 Hearts as a fashion line in The Moors that was less about dressing royals and more about making sure that everyone in the country had more than enough clothing. Jay was determined to set up both tourney as a sport and was working with some fae into creating a brand-new sport that even the fae could participate in without having unfair advantages. Carlos and Jane, who had jumped at the idea of at least visiting The Moors and discover more about her heritage, were working on setting up a school system. Mal was more focused on getting proper trade going between the villages and towns, looking at what could be done so that the non-fae residents would be as successful in life as the fae seemed to be, and very quickly found herself buried under all the day to day things that had to be observed to keep the country running that hadn’t been done in a long time. 

The four did make an effort to spend meals together as often as possible, keeping each other updated with what was going on with one another’s projects. They idly discussed creating a council of their own to lessen the work load, which led into an hour long discussion of how to set up the council seats and what matters needed prioritizing. It was both similar and not to the way they use to sit in their hideout and plan expansion or protection of their territory. 

“Wait wait, how come Evie gets a title. Does that mean she also automatically sits in on the council and Carlos and I don’t?” Jay, who had been stuffing his face with a third plate of food, had quickly looked up when Mal had casually referred to Evie as her advisor. 

“It isn’t an official title, Jay. No need to get huffy about it. Right now, the three of us are just kind of, her crew. Like always?” It had come off as more of a question, all of them uncomfortable with falling back into old roles despite having come so far. 

“Let’s make it official then? Evie, of course you will be the Royal Advisor, for now.” They exchanged small shy smiles even has their hands intertwined under the table. “Jay, as you have taken over running the castle, would you like to officially be the Senechal of Faery Castle?" 

Jay looked thoughtful before shaking his head. “I mean, the only reason I’m any good at it is because I use to keep the Junk Shop running; and they’re all still a little scared of me. But what about when things settle down and we find someone better? Maybe I’ll want to focus more on sports or public relations?” 

“We can always change your title Jay. I’m literally the queen.” Jay stuck his tongue out at her to everyone else's amusement. “Besides, things aren’t strict and lame here, not like Auradon. You can do whatever you want and you’ll still be one of my most trusted and important people.” 

They weren’t usually so verbally soft with each other, the scars of their past making it hard to voice their feelings sometimes, even when they exchanged warm supportive glances. But Mal was trying to be more verbally affectionate with at least the three of them, she didn’t want them to ever doubt that she loved them. 

“Of course, Mal, I know that. I’ll be the best damn Senechal for now, and then we’ll see where this adventure takes me.” They both raised their goblets of drink and toasted, before Mal looked to Carlos who shrugged back at her. 

“Well what about you, Carlos? We can go with Royal Engineer like you wanted, or Head of Education, since you’re also doing that?” 

Carlos looked over at Jane who was giving him an encouraging smile. “Actually Mal, Jane is going to be taking over the education front, she’s much better at it than I am since Fairy Godmother had kind of expected her to eventually take over the school. I wanted to talk to you about starting to modernize The Moors; internet, more reliable electricity, things like that?” He took Mal’s nod as approval before continuing. “How about Head of Engineering and Mechanics? It’s much wordier than the other two titles, but covers what I’m going to be doing pretty well.” 

“Ok smarty pants, you can have the fanciest title you want.” Mal said with a small laugh as she raised her goblet again, Carlos quickly joining her in a toast. 

Evie quickly cleared her throat to grab everyone’s attention before they fell into separate conversations. “I want to make a toast to the four of us. We grew up with less than nothing, and believed we were only whatever our parents wanted us to be. I didn’t even have my own life; I was just a bargaining chip for my mom to live in an actual castle again. But then I saw Mal, and she changed my life forever.” 

The lovestruck looks the two exchanged were not lost on their friends, but they didn’t comment on it, this was a long time coming. “After that whole thing in the Forbidden Fortress, and the four of us became a crew, I finally knew what it meant to live. It meant willingly getting myself into dangerous situation because I wanted to have your backs. It meant finding something at a market stall and even though it was worthless to me, I knew one of you would love it so I lied and stole and cheated to get it for you. It meant spending hours sewing leather because you had showed up in rags the day before and it broke my heart. Family was learning how to stitch you back together, crying as you willingly gave me the last of your food because I was starving, laying down on the shoreline and pretending we could see the stars. You three were my family.” 

She was crying, silent beautiful tears that Mal wanted so desperately to brush away, but she knew Evie wasn’t done yet. “We were broken and bitter and didn’t care what we had to do as long as the four of us had each other's backs. And then we went to Auradon and it felt like we could finally be everything we were never supposed to be. Happy and healthy and free. And there have been times when things got hard, and there have been moments when I realized that you guys are no longer just a breath away and that hurt so bad. But when we all agreed without hesitation to come here, together, I realized something. That no matter how much we’ve grown into our own people, no matter how far we wander from each other, we will always be a family. It will always be the four of us, forever.” 

Carlos was hastily wiping away his own tears while Jay was looking at Evie with the softest most open gaze that he had ever worn, his emotions clearly on display. Mal could feel her own eyes watering as she raised her goblet once again. “We are not the same we were a few months ago, a few years ago. We are better. And even if we don’t fit together the same way we once had, even if we don’t occupy the same places that we once did, we will always fit together in the best way. As family, four hearts that beat as one.” 

The three of them raised their goblets with her, and as their eyes met they each spoke together. 

“I love you guys.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue: Three years have passed since Mal has become the Fairy Queen of The Moors, and it is time to review the option of joining the U.S.A.

Mal lazily leaned against the wall next to her window that overlooked the gardens around the castle, gardens that she normally enjoyed looking at in all their glorious chaos as they had been planted by many of the young orphans that had stayed to live in the castle and were carefully tended to by amused  fae . But right now, she was too busy being d istracted as Evie flitted around the room in unusual panic, already dressed and made up but insistent that something was missing.

Taking a good long look at Evie, flowing dark blue dress with silver leaf embroidery around the skirt and a sheer shawl around her shoulders, soft silk black gloves, a simple gold necklace with a ruby apple pendant, and a beautiful crown perched on her perfectly curled blue hair; Mal couldn’t help but be of the opinion that her wife looked perfect already. Her heart racing as the word wife echoed in her head.

It had only been a month since they  had gotten married, Evie becoming Queen of The Moors while Mal insisted on herself only being known as the Fairy Queen or Queen of the Fae. Their relationship had been slow to start, both fresh out of their first relationships and scared of ruining their friendship , but had quickly blossomed as they both realized that they had always been meant to be together. Less than a year ago, Evie had come to Mal with an urgent matter that they had to go attend in the mountains; and then under the shifting colors of the sky in the gentle snowfall that made powder cling to their hair, Evie had proposed, telling Mal that she was ready to be her queen.

The ceremony had been held in a huge beautiful blooming field and open to everyone, including their friends and associates from  Auradon . Evie having taken charge of planning it to meet her specifications with a giddy Carlos helping. Of course, Carlos had been her man of honor while Jay had been  Mal’s best man, neither of them ever doubting that it would be those two to stand by them during such an important moment of their lives. Hades had even come in, dressed in a smart suit and hair blazing tall, to walk Mal down the aisle first. Gil had been granted the honor of walking Evie in second, after he and Harry had begged to be included in the ceremony (she couldn’t have said no to Gil’s bright smile.) To Evie’s relief and disappointment, her mother had not shown her face. 

And despite it being one of the most important moments of Evie's life, she hadn’t been nervous; not like the awful uncertainty she felt now. Because she had known that Mal wanted to spend the rest of their lives together and was in love with her equally, the ceremony was only a public affirmation to share with their friends; but the meeting that they were about to attend was so up in the air that she had no way of knowing which way it would go. They were going to meet with the Auradon Royal Council and reopen discussions of The Moors joining The United States of Auradon.

“Evie, you look beautiful, what are you even looking for?” Mal asked as she pushed off the wall, noticing that they would need to leave soon if they only wanted to be fashionably (and maybe a little rebelliously) late and not late enough to be blatantly rude. Little harmless quirks left over from The Isle that would always mark them as different from the  stuck-up royals in  Auradon . Mal herself had taken up saying that she now ran on the internal  fae clock of chaos whenever she showed up late to meetings, and very few people dared talk back to their queen. Those that did, like Uma, were never on time themselves.

“Maybe a jacket instead of shawl? I don’t want to seem pretentious.”

“Pretentious? Evie these are the people who literally wear glass slippers as the height of fashion. You will always look much more beautiful and effortlessly elegant. Now come, we have to let  Drizella know that we’ll be off.”

With one last lingering glance at her wall mounted mirror, Evie took  Mal’s arm and let her sweep her out of their room and down to where  Drizella would be spending time with Dizzy. After moving to The Moors and finally getting to taste of freedom for the first time in over twenty years, the  Tremaines had settled down. Lady Tremaine had even opened a small tea shop after deciding to stay away from starting a salon due to the memories of The Isle. Anastasia and  Drizella had come down from their  two-decade long bender, with Anastasia helping her mother grow the tea leaves and run the shop. While  Drizella reconnected with her daughter, and after Jay had run off with Gil for a few months, she had shown skill in running a household on the scale required. Mal had officially named her the new Senechal of the Faery Castle with the approval of both Jay and Dizzy.

Jay had finally promoted himself, with encouragement from his friends, to Royal Administrator of Public Relations and Sports, or just the Royal Admin of Cool when he wasn’t mocking Carlos with his new fancy title. It gave him, and Gil, the freedom to travel around the country every few months and check on any problems that people who lived too far from the castle might be having. And when he was home in Faery Castle, Gil usually staying over in Uma’s town at these times, he kept himself busy by running the competitions of Tourney, new and improved with magic being blasted instead of cannons, and the newly created Hardcore Bash Ball. It surprised no one when his first venture into game creation was a brutal and intensely competitive game; it was played both on land and in the air where both  fae and non- fae focused on multiple balls and tried to score against each other while also avoiding getting completed pummeled by the other team. The former residents of The Isle took to it gleefully, while the  fae had to be coaxed into playing such a violent game at first; but now there were several teams across the country that had had their first yearly competition only a few months ago.

They swept into Evie and Dizzy’s work room, mostly being occupied by Dizzy these days as she had taken over more and more of the workload for Evie’s 4 Hearts. The girl, having grown into a beautiful young woman in the past three years and having picked up some of Evie’s mannerism, was having a friendly conversation with her mother and Jane. Drizella had the hard looks of someone who was once almost pretty and then had a hard life and a close relationship with alcohol; but she was also much healthier than the gaunt and sad woman she had been on The Isle, there were smile lines on her face that hadn’t been there three years ago.

Jane had also changed for the better; her confidence having grown exponentially and the embrace of her magic causing her to almost literally glow as it lingered just under her skin. She had spent the first year helping set up schooling in The Moors and had then passed on her title of Head of Education to Yen Sid; choosing to spend the second year bouncing between taking college classes in Auradon and helping Evie and Mal learn about how other countries ran their governments. Then, after the proposal, Evie passed the title of Royal Advisor down to her, knowing that she would soon be taking the title and responsibilities of the Queen of The Moors.

“Good afternoon everyone, our apologies for missing breakfast with you all today. Our great and powerful queen over here didn’t want to get out of bed for as long as possible before having to get ready for the meeting.” Evie said as she gave everyone a wide smile, Mal grumbling next to her. 

The Moors were much less formal than  Auradon , especially as it was run by reformed rebels from The Isle who didn’t get very many etiquette lessons. But it was even more casual behind the privacy of the closed doors in the castle, evident by the three women greeting them with only warm smiles and friendly eye rolling. There was always respect and deference when it came down to decisions and gentle orders, but there was also the warmth of affection. The knowledge that every person who lived in this huge magical castle contributed to making it a home that they all loved and were grateful for.

“Shall I let the kitchen staff know that we’ll be expecting you for dinner? Or will you be staying in  Auradon for the whole day?”  Drizella asked Mal who shook her head.

“You’ll have to eat dinner without us, Ben invited us to dinner with him and some of the kids we went to school with that will be taking their own crowns soon.” She looked at Evie in confirmation. “It will be Audrey and Chad Charming at the very least.”

Jane stood and went to hand Mal the thick envelope she had been holding on her lap. “Here are the individual reports of the people who lived on The Isle of the Lost we’ve been working on. I still think you’re being a little paranoid.”

“Definitely, but if any of those stuck up royals try to start anything concerning any one of my people, I want to be ready to verbally slap them down.” Mal’s eyes flashed in heated indigence before Evie squeezed her arm in warning. “But only if they start anything. I’ll, of course, be on my best queenly behavior.”

Everyone else chuckled in disbelief and Dizzy looked at the clock on the wall. “Aren’t you already late?”

Mal smirked at the teenager and pull Evie close against her, “I mean, what are they going to do? Give us detention?” And with an amused huff from Evie, there was a burst of purple blue fire around them, and they were gone.

-

In the council room in Beast Castle, most seats already occupied by increasingly impatient royals, King Ben sat at the head of the table with a big friendly smile as he kept glancing at his watch. And then, right in front of the closed door, there was an eruption of strangely colored fire that quickly blinked out in the time it took the royals to flinch back in shock and fear, some even  instinctively going on the defensive. Standing there with open amusement were their awaited guest themselves, Queens Mal and Evie from the Moors.

“Sorry for the delay, it was a long trip.” Mal quipped at them, a challenging gleam in her eyes. But before anyone could comment on her taunt, Ben stood up and gave them a very formal bow.

“Of course, I hope all was well.” With a stern look from Evie, they both gave their responding curtsies to the king of a kingdom they were now visiting royals at. “Please take a seat, you already know everyone here. King Phillip and Queen Aurora of  Ulstead , King Florian and Queen Snow White, King Henry and Queen Cinderella Charming, Sultana Jasmin and Sultan Aladdin of  Agrabah , King Eric and Queen Ariel, King Naveen and Queen Tiana of  Maldonia , Princess Rapunzel and her  consort Eugene of Corona, Queen Elsa and her sister Princess Anna of Arendelle, Alice the White Queen and her escort The Mad Hatter of Wonderland, Lord Hercules and his wife Lady Megara representing Olympus, And Generals Fa Mulan and Li Shang of China.”

Everyone had stood up a second behind Ben, each bowing or curtsying when their name was called, because even if they already technically already knew Mal as an informal lady of the court years ago, there were formalities to be observed when they were meeting for such important matters that could bring huge changes to each of their kingdoms.

“And these are our guest and the reason for today’s meeting, Queens Mal and Genevieve of The Moors.” More curtsies and a small smile from Evie as this  was the first time outside of their home that she had been  referred to as Queen.

They all sat down in polite silence as Mal pulled out Evie’s chair before taking her own, on Ben’s right side. The servants came up to offer tea cups which were accepted and sampled with approval. Mal could see The Mad Hatter, who she knew quite well thanks to being known as a  villain that had escape imprisonment in The Isle due to favoritism from his new lady queen, smile large and smugly as they seemed to enjoy the tea. The dark part of her heart seized for a second in fear and anger, before the more rational part of her mind realized that the tea they had been served was a specialty from Wonderland, causing the crazed man to feel the same petty  superiority those born into prestige felt when they took ownership of anything even  remotely linked to them.

“Now with that all out of the way, let’s get right down to it.” Ben gave what he hoped was a friendly encouraging grin and Mal saw how much the man that sat next to her had changed from the boy she had left three years prior. “The Moors have reopened negotiations on either joining the U.S.A, or at least creating a formal alliance between us. As we all know, joining was an offer that had been extended three years back before The Moors officially crowned their current queen, and was declined due to internal shuffling of assets.”

He was trying to be both politically formal, and polite enough not to say that they didn’t immediately join because they didn’t want to be under  Auradon rule any longer. But neither he nor Mal forgot the look of sadness and faint betrayal he had given her when she had told him that she had no intentions of being part of his kingdom or alliance, neither of them would ever  forget that she left behind everything he had offered her to instead rule a foreign land however she pleased. They had never talked about it, they had never even acknowledged that those wounds had long since healed and they had forgiven each other, but it was still something they would both carry forever.

Florian cleared his throat after it was obvious that Ben was leaving room for any verbal input, waiting until he had everyone’s attention. “While we can respect any personal choices made years ago for declining the invitation, I, and I’m sure others, would like to know why the sudden change of heart?”

They had agreed to let Evie take the lead today, with the exception being that the actual alliance proposal that would come from Mal as the longer reigning queen. “The Moors and all its citizens are finally in a state of settlement after the extensive changes to both the government and the increased population. We have firmly established ourselves within the past three years and have made great strides and improvement. We feel confident in being able to be a worthwhile ally to Auradon.”

Cinderella still looked wary of the reasoning. “And if The Moors are doing so well, what is it you wish to gain from this  alliance ?”

“Unfortunately, The Moors are woefully lacking a lot of technolo gical modernization, and even with our hard-working Head of Engineering and Mechanics, the process is slow going. We hope that the alliance would help expedite this transition.”

Mal hated the political talk, why couldn’t  everyone just say what needed to be said without dressing it up in fancy words that didn’t really add anything to the conversation besides making you look pretentious. As if sensing her annoyance, Evie reached out to hold her hand under the table without breaking a beat in her polite backtalk as she explained how  Auradon could provide them the means to enter a new era of technology.

“If you could ease some of our worries. There are a few of your, citizens, that are of some concerns to us.” King Naveen began after  Evie had left several royals pondering over her words, trying his best not to come off as condescending before Evie smoothly cut him off.

“We’ve actually anticipated this and have come prepared to answer all your questions.” She pulled her hand away from Mal and slid the folder Jane had handed her closer, opening it up to show a picture of  Dr.Facilier on the top page. “King Naveen, addressing your biggest concern,  Dr.Facilier is living with his daughters deep in the forest among the  fae . While Freddy and Celia are known to travel about, he rarely  travels further than  the nearby village. We have made it clear to the three of them that while he is allowed to go where he pleases in The Moors, he is not to leave the country without first checking in with us and is explicitly not allowed to go near Maldonia.”

Naveen and Tiana looked pleased at this revelation, while they would have liked for the man who had brought them great suffering to  be locked away forever, this was a compromise concerning a man who, in their eyes, was focusing on being a good father. Mal and Evie did not think it was important to explain that the three  Faciliers were working with the Fae to try and make their shadow magic more controllable instead of having to rely so heavily on deals with beings that only took what they wanted. It was not the concern of anyone else how the Shadow Man was now more powerful than ever as he and his daughters found  more and more ways to harness the shadows for themselves;  as long as Mal knew what they were doing and had their loyalty, she would not be revealing anything more than assurances that they need not worry about him.

Evie flipped the page over and made eye contact with Cinderella. “Lady Tremaine and Anastasia have opened a tea shop near the castle that is quite successful with a large  fae patronage.  Drizella has taken up the mantle of keeping the castle running smoothly. We have had no issues with any of them.” And while there was a slight  flicker at disgust at how fortunate her step mother and sisters were, there was also a brief longing relief for a family that had never loved her on the queen’s face. It was  almost s ad that while the  Tremaines had grown much in only a few years, there would never be reconnecting with this part of the family.

“Gaston was kept imprisoned for a year and a half after our relocation to The Moors and was released after therapy and medicine via potions were administered to him. He now lives in a town close to the mountains with his two older sons and his work primarily consist of helping with building new homes.” Evie looked at Ben with an encouraging smile as he would need to relay this information to his  much displeased parents. “He is forbidden from stepping foot into  Auradon .”

“Shan Yu has opened a training school with his daughter near the castle with our blessing, many young men and women have benefited from his teachings. He knows that he will never be allowed near China.” And while Shang and Mulan looked uncomfortable at the thought of the man who had almost conquered China being free and allowed to teach, they reluctantly nodded as long he stayed away from their country. Not knowing that in truth, his school was also the beginning of The Moors’ hard trained army, with Shan Yu’s daughter as the future General. It had been a long month of meetings between the former  hun general who  had  been offe nded at  not  being off ered the title himself; but in the end, he agreed that the other kingdoms would not be pleased should they ever get word of such an infamous villain leading another army. And instead his daughter, only a year older than Mal herself and having spent her whole life trained to be the perfect soldier, would become one of the leaders of Mal’s  three-pronged military weapon.

“Queen Elsa, we have contacted you privately on this matter, but for the benefit of everyone on the council; Prince Hans of the Southern Isles was imprisoned just over a month ago due to a plot to try to undermine my own rise to queen. He is currently being held in the castle dungeons and his son has given up any claim to the Southern Isles throne and has very verbally cut off all ties with Hans. We will be having talks soon with the Southern Isles on sending him there for imprisonment.” Elsa remained cool and collected with a regal nod, but Anna was very noticeably gleeful at the mention of her enemy being disowned by his own son.

“The Queen of Hearts is still being held prisoner in the castle. And as many of you know, The Evil Queen,  Jafar , Ursula, and Mother  Gothel escaped when the barrier dropped from The Isle of the Lost. We are keeping a lookout for them but so far, none have been spotted.” There was a general dissent to this news, even though everyone already knew and had their own ears open for any news regarding the missing villains.

Aurora cleared her throat and gave Mal a tight smile. “What of Maleficent? We have heard rumors that she was no longer a lizard.”

Rumors were a polite way of saying they had spied on personal matters as very few people, and all of them trusted, knew that Mal had indeed turned her mother back into a fairy two years previously. She, Cruella, the Queen of  Hearts and a couple of others  were imprisoned not in the dungeons, but in the highest tower of Faery Castle.  Maleficent’s magic  was mostly locked away, only a trickle of it remained; just enough that it kept her immortal and healthy. While they were under heavy watch, all the prisoners in the tower lived in comfo rt an d  were wel l tak en care of, unlike the way they treated the children who still loved them. Cruella even had her furs with her; but Carlos refused to see her ever again, even though he made sure that she would never want for anything.

“Maleficent is no longer a lizard.” Mal confirmed, accepting the gasps of surprise and looks of mistrust. “It would have been cruel to leave her like that, and dangerous since anyone could have come and undone the curse. At least this way, she cannot access to her magic as long as I am the only one who knows how to undo it. And if there is one thing that I can confidently say, it’s that I will never release her. ”

Silence filled the room as Evie and Mal waited for any more questions, but the other royals seemed to be either busy with their own thoughts, or were ready to move on. After several minutes, Jasmin looked up with a look of  curiosity on her face.

“You’ve already laid out what it is The Moors wants from an alliance; but what is it that you offer back?”

Evie sent Mal a questioning look, who nodded and indicated for her to retake control of the conversation. “We can offer you something that  Auradon has been sorely lacking and avoiding for over twent y-five years now. Magical training.” There was an expected uproar as everyone started speaking at once before Ben called for silence and Evie could continue. “ Auradon is full of young adults and children that have inherited magic, or with the potential to learn magic, but it has always shunned any knowledge about magic that isn’t about locking it away. But these gifts that they have don’t just disappear! Imagine how dangerous it would be if they lost control in a fit of emotions because they were never taught how to keep a firm grip on their powers.”

Elsa’s face was cold and closed off, her eyes two unreadable ice chips, her sister rubbing her arm soothingly. It was no secret that Arendelle had originally declined joining  Auradon because of the  stipulation regarding magic and only a reminder that her country needed the stability  Auradon offered, and an  amendment that  was written for her kingdom to become an excep tion , did Queen Elsa agree to join the alliance. Meanwhile, Aurora and Phillip looked away in shame, remembering how their own daughter, who had no magic of her own, had let her envy and bitterness cause her to steal a powerful item of magic and curse the land. Many of the royals were also looking at Mal in calculation, she had always been powe r ful , bu t  h a d p r o v e n t i m e a n d  a g a i n h ow beneficial her controlled magic was. It was also well known that Fairy Godmother and several fairies that lived in  Auradon loved visiting The Moors to rebalance their magic in a place where it was not frowned on.

“We will need to speak of this further as a separate issue, but it is a good offer. Many of the people with the knowledge of how to use magic, like Fairy Godmother, can only do so much with the way things are right now. And  The Moors do offer a great expanse of magical knowledge.” Ben said in an agreeable voice, though Mal could still see the  wariness in his eyes at the thought of magic and she felt the same pang she had felt long ago about how he would never understand her the way she needed to be. Ben did not trust  magic; he had  experienced its cruelty too many times and had grown up  being told it was wrong. But Mal was one with magic, even here she could feel the  heartbeat of her kingdom in tune with her own, she only needed to focus to see through the ambient magic that filled the very air of The Moors. They would have never made each other half as happy as Evie made her feel every day.

Instead of letting those thoughts linger, Mal took the opportunity to get to the heart of the meeting. “King Ben. Auradon has done its best for its people, and the countries that make up The United States of Auradon have  benefited greatly. However, we are not here to ask for The Moors to become part of  Auradon proper.” Frowns and scowls made their way onto the faces of the royals sitting around them. “The way our land runs  is so vastly different, that we would  chafe under your laws, especially the ones regarding magic as it is such a core part of The Moors. Wonderland had a similar problem previously and this  was addressed by having them become and allied nation alongside of  Auradon instead of within it. I, as The Fairy Queen, would like for you to consider this same arrangement for us.”

There were some mummers of discontent, Alice’s face was set in a wide approving grin, and Elsa looked at her in admiration. Ben looked thoughtfully at Mal, there was a consideration of equals as they locked eyes tha t hadn ’ t been there three years ago. “Let us discuss the terms of this alliance.”

-

The meeting went on for several hours, they even had to have a light lunch brought to them. Mal was careful in showing only the parts of The Moors that  Auradon would approve, or at least come to eventually accept. She did not tell them of how Harriet Hook was getting ready to be the sole leader of the coast town because Uma and Harry were shaping up the former pirates to become a legitimate Navy, with Uma soon to become its Privateer Admiral. Several  magnificent ships with newly  constructed magical cannons were  nearly ready to sail on their  maiden  voyage . While not in any conflict the Navy would act as explorers with discreet side hobbies, but the primary function that Uma would lead under, was as the second point in  Mal’s weapon. This was not a weapon that Mal would use to conquer, she had long since accepted that she was no villain; but should anyone ever come looking for fight,  she and her people would be ready. Be that another kingdom, or a villain who saw her as young and weak.

Mal and Evie spoke nothing of how Carlos, who had  be en limited i n how far he could push their few metal and electronic supplies, was working with the  fae and Mal to combine technology and magic in ways that  Auradon would have thought was science fiction, to varying levels of success and failure. They had made discoveries of both  magic and technology that had been too destructive to share, even with allies. But they had also made advancements that everyone could  benefit from that they would be willing to share in exchange for something worthwhile.

Mal also did not tell them of how once they had heard that  Auradon did not plan  on doing anything with the now empty Isle of the Lost, she had sent multiple small groups to recover all the abandoned broken things that they had grown up with, including the scraps of electronics for Carlos. They all had bad memories of that awful place that served as their prison, but not everything  was so easily  abandoned . Including all the things that the original villains and  thieves had managed to smuggle in and had left behind in their haste, like the gold coins Jay had hid away from his father who had somehow gotten a hold of part of his wealth even though it was worthless on The Isle. Or all the small knickknacks that held minute amounts of magic the witches had kept hidden all that time locked away that Mad Maddy had put to great use in the village she now lived in, the village that had begun to grow new never before seen magical plants over where the trinkets had been buried.

She and Evie kept the secrets of The Moors between the two of them.

Though she had tried to ask for some of the magic items that  Auradon had locked away, only to be shot down nearly unanimously. Though disappointing, it had been expected, and she would try again in the future in smaller qualities. Starting with the remaining shard of the Evil Queen’s mirror; partly to return it to Evie, but partly to so that the Evil Queen would not one day return to reclaim it. Like Jafar had come in and taken his staff less than a year after he had vanished from The Isle.

After the royals all said their good-byes and made their way to their guest rooms before dinner, each making plans on returnin g to their own homes soon, Mal and Evie were the only ones lef t with Ben. He gave them the same genuine smile that they remembered from school and showed them out of the room, taking the lead to the smaller and more intimidate family dining room instead of the bigger one that the others would soon be served in.

‘That went very well! All we have left to do is have the documents written and reviewed for us to sign for this to become official. But I’m sure that the others kingdoms will be sending you trade agreements even before then. Especially King Phillip and Queen Aurora since their land borders your own.”

Evie slipped her arm through  Mal’s offered one, looking every bit  the graceful queen she was. “Ben, dear, we’ve just sat in there for hours talking business and politics. We’re all friends here, how have you been, we haven’t actually sat down and relaxed with you in years.”

The king blushed as he replied, “You’re right Evie, I’m sorry for being nervous. Things have been going well here. The sidekicks had another strike last year, but now that I’m actually king, I was able to promise them much fairer treatment and compensation. We’ve also heard word of Captain Hook being spotted near Atlantica and King Eric’s kingdom, so we’ve had to be on the lookout.”

Mal laughed at him, the same amused with an  undertone of  wickedness that he remembered well. “She wasn’t asking about your kingdom genius, though that’s technically a regular casual conversation for people like us. She wanted to know how you were.” She shot him a small friendly teasing smile. “You haven’t accepted our invitations to visit, besides the wedding, and we’re worried that you might no longer consider us friends.”

“ Sorry.” He looked at them sheepishly. “I’ve been good, tired, but I actually like what I’m able to do for everyone. And I’m sorry for not being able to visit. Honestly it was a little weird at first, but then it was busy and then it just like there were too many things unsaid between us. I’ll make an effort to visit soon.”

Evie looked at him with warm understanding. “We’ll have to invite you for a winter game of Bash Ball. Jay will want to drag you in and then you’ll most likely get beat up. Mal loves it.”

Ben looked at them both in slight horror, Mal smirking as she thought about the violent game her friend had invented. She had even gotten to  pla y in the first rendition before realizing it  wasn’t fair to expect everyone to feel comfortable beating up their queen. Now she was just a fan, much to her annoyance and Jay’s everlasting amusement. 

“Maybe during a quieter time?” They both laughed at him and the three of them fell into pleasant small talk the rest of the way. Things  not the same as they had been as teenagers but they found themselves falling into a comfort of friends, even after everything that had happened between them.

-

Mal and Evie appeared in the warm sitting room in a burst of flame that caused the three occupants to jump slightly in surprise. Carlos and Jane, sitting in the love seat together in comfortable soft clothing, and Jay who was in the armchair directly in front of the toasty fireplace and was obviously enjoying himself by tossing things into it. Mal made her way to a second armchair, pulling Evie onto her lap and wishing she had sent them to their room to change instead so that they could  laze around with their family in comfort at the end of a taxing day. 

“How did it go?” Jay asked with a lazy smile.

“About as well as expected. We’re now allied with  Auradon and Ben will start writing the agreement soon for Mal to sign.” Evie carefully pulled her gloves off as she answered. “They seemed interested in exactly what we mean to offer when we said magical education so I ’m sure our near future holds a lot of really fun meetings. The usual.” 

“The files were useful and convinced some of them. Even asked if they could keep it to look through it more.” Mal pointed at Jane. “And your mother stopped by after dinner to ask about you. Maybe you should visit  soon  to ease her worries.” 

Jane looked away in thought for a second before nodding in agreement,  most likely doing a quick mental check of her schedule. Carlos nudged her affectionately before running his hand through his hair, he had stopped straightening it after moving to The Moors and the curls had grown wild and long enough to tie back when he was working. He looked at Mal and Evie with an amused expression.

“How was dinner?”

Mal sighed dramatically and buried her face in Evie’s hair, letting the other woman answer. “Audrey and Chad, like we expected. She was fine, a little overly friendly with Mal really, but she let it slip that she was thinking of abdicating and letting her younger brother become the heir to Ulstead . Chad looked tired, he’s going to be taking his throne in five years and his parents are really driving leadership into him. Aziz, Aladdin’s son, was there asking about you Jay.” 

Jay made a face at this as he remembered Aziz from school. The other boy would follow him constantly, trying to make conversation, but Jay  wasn’t interesting in playing nice with the son of Aladdin. He  didn’t care about  Jafar’s old enemies, and would have at least been friendly with Aziz just to spite his fath er , i f the other boy  h adn ’t introduced h im sel f b y  i mm edi ate ly asking  Ja y i f h e  w as a  gen ie and if he could grant wishes. Jay knew all  ab out t h e  gen ie ’s story, about how  Jafar had sti ll be en a  gen i e whe n h e  w as tr app ed on The Isle. Jay had spent his whole life wondering what it meant for him; but after not showing powers when coming to  Auradon , he refused to let it  eat him up inside any longer. Though these days he feared thinking about if  Jafar still had those powers now that he was free. Would they even notice if he did, or would the world rearrange itself without them knowing any better?

“Ally was there too, she asked after Freddy, apparently she isn’t to take her own crown for a long time yet. Lonnie was visiting from China with her parents, she’s in the military already , no surprise there . And, of course, Ben. He promises to visit soon.”

“I’m surprised there were so few people there, I would have thought that more of the future leaders would have jumped on this opportunity.” Carlos said casually, but they could all see his eyes narrow in suspicion already.

“ Honestly I’m sure they would have. But Ben wanted to have us be as comfortable as possible and only invited people we actually associated with back in school.” Evie reassured him.

Jane nodded in agreement, “And they didn’t ask more about the structure of how things are  running here and if anything will change with the  alliance ?” 

It had come as a pleasant surprise when Jane had pledged her loyalty to The Moors after Mal had casually mentioned Evie stepping out of the role of advisor and who she suggested giving the title to next. Jane had gone silent before asking Ma what she wanted Jane to do. The girl had not hesitated kneeling before the Fairy Queen and giving up all ties to  Auradon , with the exception of her relationship with Fairy Godmother of course.  Auradon had not been kind to Jane, not until she met Carlos, and even then, she was still letting life do with her as it pleased. Mal and The Moors had been the ones that allowed her to become anything she wanted. And now she wanted to stand by Mal and Evie and Jay and especially Carlos, and build something greater than  Auradon could ever be. She had been the only choice when Evie and Mal had spoken of passing the title of Royal Advisor; it had been poetic, a light fairy to bring a different point of view to the dark fairy queen.

Jane had become part of their family over the years, she had stood by them during these new and hard experiences, always offering her support and advice. And she had shared in their success, her joy adding to their own happiness. When Carlos had told the three of them that he was thinking of proposing to her, they had all been as excited for the two as the guys had been when Evie had told them of her owns proposal. Evie had even helped him pick out the ring that he now carried inside his jacket at all times, only waiting for the perfect opportunity. 

“Funny enough, foreign leaders are too caught up in their own things to ask about how other places are keeping their people in line. Only a few of them genuinely asked after their former citizens. I had blissfully forgotten how oblivious the  Auradon council was.” Evie replied with a roll of her eyes.

Mal found herself relaxing, her eyes closing with the background noise of her friends, her family, making simple conversation around her. The past four years had been busy and eye opening, her life was far beyond anything that her would have dreamed as an angry teenager back on The Isle. Life was funny that way, it never went the way you once expected or hoped. She had everything she  wanted; she was happy.

She got to wake up every day in her full and joyfully noisy castle next to the woman who loved her and had never given up on her despite all the bumps along the way. She got to go down to a filling breakfast surrounded by many of the kids she had managed to save from the cruel life of The Isle of the Lost and the  fae who adored and respected her just for being herself. She spent her days busy making sure that all her people were well and happy, helped by the people she loved. She made friendly conversations with people who she once hated but now she counted as some of her closest and most trusted friends. And in the evenings, she had dinner with her family. With Evie and Carlos and Jay and Jane, where they relaxed and let their masks fall as they spoke of their days. Ending every day with a loving kiss from her wife before starting all over again.

Evie felt  Mal’s arms loosen around her and the other woman’s breathing even out. She gently stood and said her goodnights to the others as they all sleepily made their way to their own rooms. Mal had always been the biggest person in the room, not physically but in terms of knowing how to control a room; it was something Maleficent excelled at and one of the only things Mal had learned from her mother. And these days Mal was effortlessly regal, bigger than life. But that was just how she projected herself. In truth, Mal was as small and thin as she had been three years earlier; letting Evie easily stand up and sweep her up in her arms.

Setting her down on their bed and gently  removing the more cumbersome parts of her outfit, Evie marveled at how beautiful Mal looked asleep. Small and delicate, her intense glowing eyes hidden away, her coiled body relaxed, her smirk nowhere to be seen. She brushed away purple hair from her face and gently kissed her forehead. Mal mumbled and unconsciously scooted to her side of the bed, positioning herself to be the little spoon. 

“Sleep well Fairy Queen. No one deserves a peaceful slumber more than you, my love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with me through this weird little idea of mine! I have a few assorted snippets of life in The Moors for other characters besides our core four; nothing nearly as long, but would any of you be interested in reading them?


End file.
